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Just quickly doing the math in my head, it seems like the Mini costs roughly the same as a real Mac Mini. So, what's the advantage of going the DIY route? I pre

Just quickly doing the math in my head, it seems like the Mini costs roughly the same as a real Mac Mini. So, what's the advantage of going the DIY route? I presume the price gap grows on the higher end systems?

jacquesm 12y ago
What's 'real' about the 'real' Mac Mini that's not real about this one? For one I would assume that since it's built up from separate parts you can upgrade it at will, something you can't really do with a 'real' Mac Mini.
- berberous 12y ago
  I assume he means the much better support, much nicer case, higher resale value, etc.
  - morbius 12y ago
    "nicer case" is subjective, although I will agree that official Apple models do have far better support and far better resale value. That said, I don't think the average Hackintosher really cares about those things -- there's a reason why "hack" is in the name. It's a hacky and fun way to get OS X running on unofficially supported hardware, and I don't think support and resale value are high on a Hackintosher's priority list.
- UnoriginalGuy 12y ago
  > What's 'real' about the 'real' Mac Mini that's not real about this one? Warranty and support. If Apple releases an update that breaks your Hackintosh then too bad, if Apple does it to your $100 more legit Mac Mini then you can moan at them if nothing else. I do, however, completely agree with the upgrade argument. Particularly with the latest gen' of Mac Mini which don't allow the RAM to be upgraded because greed.
  - FireBeyond 12y ago
    If your definition of support is the ability to "moan at [the vendor] if nothing else", is it really worthwhile to consider as an alternative? Your hardware is still warrantied by the respective vendors.
    - judk 12y ago
      You can't walk into the Atheros Store at the mall to get warranty service.
      - tinco 12y ago
        Eh, that makes no sense. You can't go to the AMD store in your mall to get your Mac Pro fixed either. You can however, if you buy your HackPro all together at one store, go to that stores service desk and have any component replaced, they might even give you a loaner to work on while your HackPro is being repaired. Most computer stores have better support than Apple too.
        judk 12y ago
        You can walk into an Apple Store on most cities.

jacquesm 12y ago

What's 'real' about the 'real' Mac Mini that's not real about this one? For one I would assume that since it's built up from separate parts you can upgrade it at will, something you can't really do with a 'real' Mac Mini.

berberous 12y ago
I assume he means the much better support, much nicer case, higher resale value, etc.
- morbius 12y ago
  "nicer case" is subjective, although I will agree that official Apple models do have far better support and far better resale value. That said, I don't think the average Hackintosher really cares about those things -- there's a reason why "hack" is in the name. It's a hacky and fun way to get OS X running on unofficially supported hardware, and I don't think support and resale value are high on a Hackintosher's priority list.
UnoriginalGuy 12y ago
> What's 'real' about the 'real' Mac Mini that's not real about this one? Warranty and support. If Apple releases an update that breaks your Hackintosh then too bad, if Apple does it to your $100 more legit Mac Mini then you can moan at them if nothing else. I do, however, completely agree with the upgrade argument. Particularly with the latest gen' of Mac Mini which don't allow the RAM to be upgraded because greed.
- FireBeyond 12y ago
  If your definition of support is the ability to "moan at [the vendor] if nothing else", is it really worthwhile to consider as an alternative? Your hardware is still warrantied by the respective vendors.
  - judk 12y ago
    You can't walk into the Atheros Store at the mall to get warranty service.
    - tinco 12y ago
      Eh, that makes no sense. You can't go to the AMD store in your mall to get your Mac Pro fixed either. You can however, if you buy your HackPro all together at one store, go to that stores service desk and have any component replaced, they might even give you a loaner to work on while your HackPro is being repaired. Most computer stores have better support than Apple too.
      - judk 12y ago
        You can walk into an Apple Store on most cities.